Part One
Jenny was almost twenty years old and a high school senior. It was embarrassing. By all rights she should have already been in her second year of college, but at a young age her mom left Jenny's biological father with her in tow. They drifted from relative to relative, feeding off their kindness until they grew weary of the burden. When they wore out the welcome of close family, they drifted in and out of the lives of more distant relations. For two years they were on the move, rarely spending more than a few months at any one place. While Jenny longed to start school it simply wasn't possible. Her mother made feeble attempts at home-schooling but abandoned those efforts just as she had Jenny's father. When things became difficult, her mother sought the easy way out.
Eventually only one relative remained, a mysterious great-aunt named Constance. The family cut off relations years ago when the woman married a self-proclaimed warlock and was lured into the shady underworld of black magic. It was a sign of true desperation when they found themselves on her doorstep. Surprisingly, Constance treated them with warmth and compassion. Her husband had passed on several years earlier and left behind a small mansion. The grounds were unkempt and overgrown with weeds and bushes. Thick ivy climbed the walls of the two-story red brick home and gave it an eerie appearance.
Constance allowed them access to a wing of the home. She kept to the other, and either by design or coincidence they rarely encountered one another. Constance spent most of her time locked in a large room at the rear of the home. Jenny saw it once; it was frightening to the young girl. Shelves lined all four walls, and hundreds of mason jars were carefully arranged. None were labeled, and Jenny could only imagine what they contained. At the center of the room was a fabric-draped table upon which rested long, thick black candles. It gave Jenny a cold chill when she saw it, and she never returned.
Now Jenny was on the verge of starting a life of her own choosing. She longed to attend college and get a positive start, but the only way that would happen would be a full scholarship. Three were available, and hundreds were vying for them. Jenny had done well thus far, but decisive mid-terms were fast approaching and her confidence was extremely fragile. She had bad dreams of bombing the tests and a dread developed that had her stomach tied in knots.
"If you let me pull your strings, for you I can do great things." Jenny heard herself repeating the simple rhyme, unsure where she'd heard it. She dismissed it as a by-product of her ever-growing fear and continual nightmares.
Less than a week remained, and Jenny found it impossible to concentrate on her studies. She was continually distracted by that same annoying rhyme and the fear of failure. Sleep was harder to come by, and she lay in bed awake at night repeating those same words "If you let me pull your strings, for you I can do great things."
Jenny didn't speak any words, she thought them. "Okay, who are you and how can you help me?"
Jenny was startled when a voice sounded inside her head that wasn't hers. "I'm the Puppeteer, and I'm closer than you think. I can give you knowledge with my special wink."
"Closer than I think?" she repeated
"I am in a box in the attic above your bed, come to me and I can still all your fear and dread."
The conversation in her head ended as mysteriously as it started. She asked more questions but the voice was gone. Jenny knew it was up to her to go to him, in the attic above her bed. Somehow the Puppeteer knew the agony and doubt she was enduring. What if he could give her knowledge with a special wink? That would solve so many dilemmas Jenny now faced. That promise was a powerful lure.
Both curious and desperate she slipped from her bed and crept from the room wearing a thin white nightgown, which was in sharp contrast to her long jet-black hair. The house was old and creaky, and it was impossible to move about silently, but Jenny did the best she could. Had anyone encountered her they might have mistaken her for a ghostly apparition as her slender form moved from hall to hall in search for a stairway to the attic. Jenny nervously ascended the steps when she found them, and blindly groped in the darkness for a light switch. To her relief a single naked bulb turned on, spilling a yellowish light on the dusty contents of the room.
She retraced her footsteps as best she could and searched for the location above her bed. There was an array of cardboard boxes and luggage containers and Jenny realized the futility of the search. Then a thumping noise sounded, guiding her to what appeared to be a heavy shipping container as tall as her five foot four inch frame. Four rusted latches secured the door.
Jenny tugged and pried on the stubborn latches for several minutes in vain, and then glanced around for a tool of some type. She discovered an old screwdriver and was able to pry the latches open. When the last latch reluctantly yielded, Jenny grew nervous. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she realized she had no idea what she was releasing. A cold chill coursed through her veins as she second-guessed the wisdom of her actions.
"If you let me pull your strings, for you I can do great things." This time it wasn't in her head. Instead it was a muffled voice that emanated from the container. Whatever it was inside knew how close she was to releasing him and became more insistent. "I'm the Puppeteer, and I'm closer than you think. I can give you knowledge with my special wink."
Jenny knew that without his help, her college dreams would go up in flames. And if they did, her life was pretty much over anyway. Desperation overrode logic and her fingers grabbed the door of the box and pulled. The door creaked in protest and it took all the strength she had to pull it off. When it fell open the yellowish light revealed a puppet nearly as big as her. The head was flesh-colored and a wide smile adorned its face. It was dressed in red shorts, white shirt, and a red plaid vest. At first glance the puppet appeared totally innocent, but Jenny sensed an evil aura surrounded it.